Witnesses Lining Up for CU Reg Burden Hearing

House Financial Services Committee staffers have yet to confirm the April 10 hearing scheduled to focus on the regulatory burdens facing community financial institutions will focus on credit unions.

However, both CUNA and NAFCU say they’ve not only been asked to produce witnesses, they have already selected them.

Pamela Stephens, president/CEO of the $55 million Security One FCU of Arlington, Texas, will testify on behalf of CUNA, the trade group announced Friday.

CUNA said Stephens will provide the subcommittee on financial institutions and consumer credit with detailed suggestions regarding how they can reduce regulatory burden on credit unions. NAFCU Vice President of Legislative Affairs Brad Thaler said his trade has selected as its witness Robert Burrow, president/CEO of the $309 million Bayer Heritage FCU in Proctor, W.Va.

The hearing is one in a series that will examine regulatory burdens on community financial institutions. A previous hearing focused on an FDIC report on the topic, and an addition hearing expected to focus again on banks is scheduled for April 16.

"After dozens of hearings in the last Congress on regulatory burden, the House Financial Services Committee is sending a message through this regulatory relief hearing that they've heard the concerns and they want to hear about solutions. We're ready to put some solutions on the table, and we're hopeful that the committee and Congress will embrace them and enact them," CUNA Senior Vice President of Legislative Affairs Ryan Donovan said in the trade’s March 29 NewsNow report. The upcoming regulatory burden hearings are expected to be a precursor to a legislative package, CUNA said.